The Gentlemen: A Little Snip of Snatch
Watching a fluff film about gangster shenanigans centred around illegal cannabis operations seems antiquated in Canada. In Snatch, or some stylized sequel to it, Guy Ritchie shows he has a future masterpiece in him, but most of the time I kept thinking with a little research, he would’ve discovered the cannabis black market will thrive after legalization in the UK.
The use of lighting and colour was expert, which is why I think there’s an arthouse picture no one will ever see from the auteur. He gets performances too, or were they experienced actors having a blast. Colin Farrell and Michelle Dockery were scene stealing every second of their short time on screen – had no idea that was Lady Mary (probably because I stopped watching Downton Abbey after Season 3) - and Hugh Grant was having a whale of a time sticking it to the gutter press who screwed him over.
Hugh was slapping around a script like it was a 90’s film. It was so referential (and self-referential) to filmmaking and screenwriting (the things you’re not meant to do), it was a piss take, and it was so conscious of not meeting the Bechdel Test, I laughed. Beyond Michelle, the only other female character with more than two lines (guessing three) dies. I think that’s where I laughed.
The film within a film structure isn’t sophisticated or complex, it means you’ve run out of ideas to make something work. Trust me, I’ve done it, or at least thought about it often. Hey, I know how to rescue this piece of garbage. It works fine in The Gentlemen, almost artful, but Guy, come on, we know.
Thing is, who really cares? Yes, this was laced with racism and anti-semitism too, the pound of flesh not so smart or forgiving. But in this fluff world everyone’s a gangster, great characters or cardboard cut outs no matter, no one comes off well, they’re honest to it. And there’s no reason to weigh down fluff with heavy thoughts (but if you want I can go there, because in a sense there is every reason).
McConaughey‘s Mickey Pearson plays Robin Hood for the rich, and is seemingly named after a classic Britcom character (Mickey Pearce) for a laugh. This was a giant slab of I don’t give a monkey’s filmmaking on every level, that made the last twenty years seem like it never existed (amen, brother). And at under two hours running time, kudos to Ritchie for not making a bloated bovver movie. For a man living in a box and who goes to work in an even bigger box, snips do when there’s no Snatch.
Recommended grub: Budgie’s Burritos (yer perfect 90’s throwback est. in 2005)
Recommended garden variety: sorry, not high
Recommended Drink: radler – it’s the closest thing around here to a shandy or lager top